Chapter 233: There are no Han people in the Han Street, and no innocent souls under the guns of the
Chapter 233: There are no Han people in the Han Street, and no innocent souls under the guns of the women's camp
With his life and property at stake, Alihamu lost his composure and had no desire to pursue his own ambitions. He turned around and went into the city to gather his 10,000-strong army, and hurried eastward to reinforce Tuodelin.
Suhua and her husband hugged each other and cried, "The imperial soldiers have finally arrived. We can finally be free from humiliation and no longer have to look after the bandits."
Kalmanga's bent back straightened up all of a sudden, and the humility and flattery on his face completely disappeared. "We in the Xibe Camp are warriors, and we can't just sit there and wait for the imperial soldiers to come to our rescue. Someone, go contact the Solon Camp and respond to the imperial soldiers!"
Four thousand brave warriors from the Xibe Camp and the Solon Camp, armed with simple swords and spears and braving bullets, bravely climbed to the top of the Ningyuan City Wall without fear of sacrifice. Suhua's husband Dongjun was the first to climb up.
In close combat, the hastily organized bandit militia that stayed behind were no match for the Xibe and Solon warriors from the Baishan and Heishui regions, and were killed and fled in panic.
Tong Jun led the group and was the first to rush into the armory, killing the defenders and seizing the Russian-made rifles provided by the Russians.
After continuous fighting, there were only a little over 3,000 adult males left in the two tribes. Su Hua stepped forward and formed the Xibe Women's Camp with 500 women from the tribe.
Immediately, gunfire rang out in the nine cities of Yili, and all the stubborn bandits and militiamen were wiped out.
Suhua was lucky enough to escape the tragic fate, but how many tragedies were there in the troubled times? Suhua rescued a large number of Han, Manchu and Mongolian women who were looted after the massacre. These insulted and damaged suffering people resolutely joined the Xibe Women's Camp.
Dong Jun led 3,000 Xibe and Suolong camp soldiers to the east to reinforce the Huai Army, while Su Hua led 2,000 female soldiers to take over the important task of garrisoning the nine cities of Yili.
They may have lacked training, but they were full of hatred. Now that they had guns in their hands, they immediately began large-scale revenge.
All the rioters who participated in the massacre and looting were shot dead by the female battalion and thrown into the Ili River. The water of the Ili River changed color again.
But Suhua can say responsibly, "Ili is full of corpses everywhere, and there are no Han people in the Han streets. It's all done by these bandits. There are no innocent souls in the Xibe Women's Camp!"
…………
Manas, a small town located between Dihua and Yili, has no strategic significance, but now, Nie Shicheng and the 3rd Mixed Division of the Huai Army are blocked here.
There is no pass here, and we can't even control the main road. We can definitely go around it, but we can't.
There are now 21,000 rebels gathered in the city, which is a force that cannot be ignored.
It turned out that there were not so many soldiers here. There were only more than a thousand bandits who were looking after Tuodelin's hometown. They were often beaten by various militia groups and forced to hide in the city, not daring to come out.
That's right, the Han People's Group was not limited to Xu Xuegong. Ili Province had a population of one million, and there were more than 100,000 Han people. After the Qing government lost control of Ili Province, except for the Han people in Ili who were massacred, Han people from other places united and formed militias.
Tuodelin was not a wise leader who knew how to govern the world. The northern border was in a mess. As long as the Han people's groups did not attack him and were willing to hand over some food to appease him, he would not provoke them.
But now the situation is very different. Before Bai Yanhu fled south, he sent 4,000 bandits to help Todelin defend Manas. Todelin took 2,000 cronies to inspect Ili and Tacheng. When he heard that Dihua was in danger, he rushed back and brought back 3,000 bandits from Tacheng. Finally, Alihamu of Ili arrived with 10,000 reinforcements.
They were originally planning to reinforce Dihua, but just as they set out they heard that Dihua had been lost, so they retreated back to Manas.
The small city of Manas has gathered all the important remaining forces of the bandits in the northern border, which has both advantages and disadvantages.
The upside was that once they were gathered together and annihilated, Shao Quanzhong's retreat would be secured. The downside was that there were too many bandits, giving Nie Shicheng a headache.
The rebels were numerous, and if it was a field battle, the Huai Army would not be afraid at all. Now with more than 16,000 people in the Third Mixed Division, it was too difficult to surround more than 20,000 people and annihilate them.
Nie's army had a complete strength of 18,000 people, but after the Battle of Gumudi, the Huai Army did not add any more troops. Even if the army was complete, it would still be difficult to fight.
It is not difficult to win the battle, but once these bandits are dispersed, it will be very difficult and time-consuming to pursue them city by city.
"Report! Yili has been recovered. Dong Jun brought 3,000 soldiers from the Xibe Camp and the Suolong Camp to help!" "Report! Ten Han militias from the Yili River Valley and Tacheng area, totaling 8,000 people, came to help!"
"Report! Tacheng has been recaptured by the Torghut tribe, and five thousand cavalry are coming to help!"
The main force of the bandits was annihilated in Gumudi, and the remaining bandits gathered in Manas. The suppressed anti-bandit armed forces in various places suddenly came back to life and came to welcome the Huai Army.
I am not fighting alone. Nie Shicheng immediately understood. "Request Major General Le Sen, who is stationed in Dihua, to equip Xu Xuegong's militia with the weapons seized from the bandits in Huangtian, Gumudi and Dihua, and then transport the rest to arm these reinforcements. Let them deploy along the west bank of the Manas River to prevent the enemy from fleeing to the west. We don't need to worry about the west. Send two regiments to defend the north and south respectively. The main force will be in the east. Start the siege. No one can escape!"
The rumble of cannons rang out, the 180-pound artillery roared, and the Battle of Manas officially began.
…………
The sound of carts rumbles, the sound of horses neighs, the desert Gobi, and the setting sun is as red as blood.
Shao Quanzhong led the Guards Brigade and the baggage train on the road from Toksun to Korla.
"Report, the wheels of two more steam tractors are stuck in the mud."
Shao Quanzhong glanced at the sky and said, "Set up camp. Let's go here first today."
Not far away, black smoke was belching from a steam tractor. Dozens of logistics soldiers pulled ropes, shouted slogans, and struggled to drag the steam tractor out of the mud.
Why is there mud on this road?
We were close to Korla, close to Lake Bosten, with abundant water. The road ahead was muddy because the enemy dug ditches to divert water, blocking the Huai Army's pursuit.
"Report, Dong Fuxiang's cavalry has already exchanged fire with Yakub Beg's rearguard troops outside Korla City. We have learned that Yakub Beg's rearguard troops are from Bai Yanhu's troop, and these temporary ditches were dug by Bai Yanhu's men."
Uh, "Bai Yanhu is such a talented guy. He can come up with such a bad idea. The mud can't stop Dong Fuxiang's lightly armed team. Our logistics will be in trouble. Eh? Isn't Bai Yanhu in Turpan? Why did he go to Korla with Yakub Beg?"
Emery reported, "I just received comprehensive information that Bai Yanhu was in Turpan and had been sending people to inquire about the news in the direction of Dabancheng and Toksun. As soon as we captured Dabancheng, he immediately became alert and left Ishaq to defend Turpan. He led his confidants to evacuate, fled to Toksun, and then followed Yakub Beg southward."
"Bai Yanhu is as slippery as a loach. He saw at a glance that if Toksun fell, Turpan would be doomed. He ran away as fast as a rabbit. His ability to betray his teammates is no less than mine."
Shao Quanzhong lamented the difficulty of his old rival, when he suddenly saw a trail of dust in the north, and a messenger had arrived.
"Sir, Shao Hengzhong's troops set out from Hami, and Lin Bozai's troops set out from Barkol. They have already surrounded Turpan."
Originally, Turpan was preparing to use three armies to encircle and completely wipe out the rebels in the northern border. However, Bai Yanhu did not take the usual route and fled with his men. There were not so many bandits in Turpan City, so two mixed divisions were enough to encircle them.
"The shortcut from Hami to Toksun via Turpan has been opened, and the latest batch of arms has arrived in Jiayuguan, five miles away. It is the 240 four-pound light field guns in 20 companies that you ordered from Britain, carrying five base shells, which are the latest TNT explosive shells developed by the Lanzhou Arsenal. Due to the shortage of steam tractors, this batch of arms was all transported by camels."
The four-pound field gun weighed four hundred pounds and could be carried by a horse, not to mention a camel, which could be pulled by four soldiers.
This is designed for field maneuvers. It's not very powerful, but if you use TNT explosives -
Shao Quanzhong slammed his fist into his palm, "You've arrived just in time. Come on, have the logistics troops deliver these cannons to Dong Fuxiang overnight, and have the artillerymen who can fire go with them to strengthen the firepower of Dong Fuxiang's troops. Oh, and have the horses carry some food over. Dong Fuxiang is traveling light, so he doesn't have much food."
As the sky gradually darkened, a series of camels and horses easily crossed the muddy road to support the Gansu Army on the front line.
Shao Quanzhong sneered, "Akub Beg, Bai Yanhu, you are blessed. You will go down in history as the first to taste the glory of TNT shells."
(End of this chapter)